When Eating Well Magazine collaborated with a local Martha’s Vineyard company, Farm.Field.Sea, they knew they wanted to capture an authentic view into what it’s like to live and eat on the island. They turned to Massachusetts photographer Elizabeth Cecil to capture the project.
Founded by Nevette Previd, Farm.Field.Sea focuses on one-of-a-kind, knowledge-driven foodie experiences, where people are invited behind the scenes with the local food producers and educators of Martha’s Vineyard. Their goal is to share and celebrate what it means to grow, harvest, catch and source local and sustainable food on the island. In addition to building awareness, people get to participate in several amazing meals and experience what is so special about the Vineyard. Farm.Field.Sea had worked with Elizabeth, who is based in Martha’s Vineyard, for many years and were familiar with her authentic, earthy aesthetic, so they knew she would be the perfect fit to capture the magic of the Vineyard.
With the shoot focused on showing the different aspects of Farm.Field.Sea, Eating Well asked Elizabeth to capture the essence of the program, photographing a pop-up meal on the docks in Menemsha, as well as visiting the farmers and fishermen on the island that supplied the locally grown food for the pop-up meal.
The concept was to treat the story as a photo essay, capturing food, people, animals and the environment.
Because of the nature of the shoot, the Farm.Field.Sea team organized everything, from the food to the people. They worked with chef Nathan Gould, who sourced great ingredients for the meal. Elizabeth also spent a good bit of time with the farmers and fishermen, capturing the workers as they fished and tended to fields.
Knowing the local fisherman and farmers helped because I was able to get access to freshly caught fish on the docks, hang with the crew in the fields at Morning Glory Farm, and spend time with Rebecca Miller at North Tabor Farm.
Photographing the pop-up meal on the docks was one of Elizabeth’s favorite experiences of the project. Despite a little wind on the day of, things went smoothly with everyone lending a helping hand.
I loved photographing the meal on the docks – it was really a perfect end of summer day and the meal was incredible.
So far, the reaction to the images has been very positive, with people loving an inside look at life on Martha’s Vineyard. With Elizabeth’s interest in her local food community, she is sure to be back for more assignments like this in the future.
To see more of Elizabeth’s work, visit elizabethcecil.com.